Blue Exorcist: Episode 3

Uh, oh! Things are starting to get a bit heavy for this fun action packed Shonen series.

Alright so we’re now into the third episode of Blue Exorcist and just like its predecessor, episode three picks up where episode two left off.

Right from the get go, the melancholy atmosphere brought on by the loss of Father Fuijimoto hits the audience like a ton of bricks. Feeling responsible about the old man’s death, Rin has heeds Fuijimoto’s advice from the last episode. He packs his bags, says goodbye to all the other priests and then leaves the monastery. Shortly after dealing with Rin, we then find Yukio in a rather… stoic state, looking rather heartbroken at Father Fujimoto’s grave. Of course, we then cut back to Rin only to find that he is also suffering significantly as well. But then again, it’s kinda hard to get over any kind of immediate guilt that you may have over your father’s death when your own brother is giving you the silent treatment.

I honestly thought that this was going to be an episode filled with unnecessary dramatics. You know, the ones with tons of crying and bitter angst.Though when the opening credits ended, and suddenly I saw our little Rin standing on a sidewalk on a relatively sunny day waiting for Yuiko to meet him outside. Oh okay, maybe things aren’t going to be so bad. I was right. Guess, what? Things get even better when we meet this guy:

Mephisto.

Oh, and remember how I said in the last post how I was devastated that Father Fuijmoto died because he was by far the most entertaining character in the series? Yeah, well, I take that back. Behold Mephisto! AKA Mr. Faust, or Johann Faust the Fifth, which is actually his official name. Mephisto is director of True Cross Academy and hardly acts like one. He’s bubbly, has a pink Cadillac stretch limo, and dresses like a goddamn pimp. I friggin’ love this guy.

Without hesitation Rin and Yukio jump into Mephisto’s bitchin’ limo. The ride is quiet that is, until a couple of seconds later we see it off into the distance. Finally we get to see the famous True Cross Academy, the same school that everyone in the series has been making a fuss about.

Though, when we get a peek inside, we figure that the school official named might as well be True Cross Academy: Hogwarts School for Demon Children. Okay, that sounds cynical. But then again, how many times have we’ve seen the whole “boarding school in a magical world” troupe in an Anime? Too many? Okay, all complaining aside, I actually like the design of the school and I’m certainly digging the whole private town vibe.

Okay, we’re finally at the part where the boys are at True Cross’s opening assembly and to Rin’s (and our) surprise, it turns out that Yukio is the first year’s representative. Rin is gobsmacked at this, but, ah, of course, after a series of cheesy sentimental flash backs we learn that Rin is actually quite proud of his brother for doing so well. Okay, so we now know Yukio is book nerd with no life, so what? Oh, we’ll see in a minute.

Feeling bored because he has no classes to attend at the current moment, Rin walks out of class and does a very Rin type thing and panics in very exaggerated way. That is until, dun dun dun! A… little dog appears?

Rin then follows the small dog. After chasing after the mutt outside of the school and on to the street, we find out that it’s just Mephisto again. Mr. Pimp man transforms back into a human to give Rin a very magical key. Mephisto then goes on to explain to Rin that if he’s serious about becoming an exorcist, he must attend a separate cram school, because being enrolled in Demon themed high school is not enough, evidently. (Honestly, I don’t why they even bother with the whole cram school concept. I mean, can’t they just say he’s taking an elective or something?)

After talking, Mephisto gives Rin an order to open up some rusty door to see if he can get access to the cram school and sure enough it works. Mephisto then proceeds to escort the young exorcist in training to the appropriate room before turning into a lap dog again. Though, upon entering, we can see that while the hallways of the cram school are magnificent, the classrooms themselves are in rough shape. Oh, and things get worse from there.

Yep.

Bad enough that you’re placed in a crummy cram school class, but having your brainiac brother as your teacher?

While Yukio is busy preparing his students for a Temptant Ritual (Read: a ritual where a person receives an infection from a demon, so that they are “cursed” to see demons forever. Naturally, this is needed if someone wants to become an exorcist.) he finds himself being constantly interrupted by Rin’s screaming. After having enough of his brother’s constant bitching,Yukio tells his students to wait outside so that he may have a private chat with his brother.

What we find out later is nothing short of staggering. Turns out that Yukio has been promoted to the rank of teacher because, not only did he finish all of his exorcist training in two years, he’s also the youngest person in history to reach the title of exorcist. Talk about an overachiever. We then also find out that Father Fuijimoto was the one to suggest that Yukio pursue exorcism as a means of dealing with seeing demons his whole life. (Seeing that Yukio and Rin are twins, Yukio acquired this “temptantance” from being in the womb with Rin.) Angered for not telling him anything for the last fifteen years, Rin continues to have a scream fest with his brother. His anger gets the better of him and he knocks the vile full of animal’s blood right out of Yukio’s hands and onto the floor, thus releasing goblins into the classroom.

For those of you that remember, we saw a goblin in the first episode. (Does the little girl with her scarf ring any bells?) The attacks from the Goblins start off relatively mild and then start to escalate rapidly as the seconds go on. However, despite all the calamity happening around him, Rin still proceeds to interrogate Yukio, because as we all know, the best time to have a really intense conversion with your brother is when he’s in middle of a gun battle.

That’s when everything start to get heavy. Really Heavy.

I will not ruin the scene by giving away what was said between the two of them. All I will say is that it was actually quite a gripping moment as Yukio just kept spewing verbal attacks at Rin. Trust me, it’s intense enough to make you go “OH SNAP!” and stare with your mouth agape.

Insulted by what his brother had said to him, we see Rin burst into devil mode. The audience is then fooled for a second into thinking that he’s going to kill Yukio. Thankfully, however, we find that this is not the case as Rin unleashes all of his demon fury on a Uber giant goblin that’s hovering right behind Yukio and saves his brother’s life.

After another sort monologue from Rin on how he’d never kill his own brother, I see Yukio start to frown slightly and I think wonderful just what we need more useless drama just then he looks at Rin and asks, “What where dad’s final moments like?”

In which Rin responds, “He was awesome.”
I don’t why, but that bit made me chuckle. (Thankfully, I’m not the only one who thought Fuijimoto was amazing.) Surprized at my own random chuckling, I then decided to interpret my amusement as good omen and sure enough the episode did end in a high note. Rin and Yukio make up, and continue to enjoy the rest of their evening in their new dorm…even though Rin’s bemoaning all the extra homework he has to do.

How does this episode stack up?

Well, to quote Rin, this episode “was awesome”. I enjoyed the action sequences. Every movement was fluid and pretty flawless. Also, surprisingly enough, I also enjoyed the zany music that was playing in the background.

However, despite all of these positive accolades that I’m giving this series I’m terribly curious how everything is going to unfold. Are we going to be blessed with a truly interesting tale of growing up as the son of Satan? Or are we going to be force-fed a horrible school themed Shonen where students are forced to fight demons randomly? Though it’s too soon to call any shots, I can’t help but wonder.

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One Reply to “Blue Exorcist: Episode 3”

I was a little surprised about Rin… although I would’ve been much more surprised if they left him out of the cover art. 😛 But I was curious as to how we was going to get involved in the exorcism, but I suppose it all makes sense now.